Mumbai University awards 1.72 lakh degrees; PhD output up 50%, highest in nine years

The University of Mumbai, one of the largest public universities in India, conferred degrees on 1,72,522 students at its annual convocation. A total of 1,49,982 undergraduate (UG) and 22,540 postgraduate (PG) students received their degrees during the ceremony.

The university also awarded 602 PhD degrees. The largest number of scholars were from the Faculty of Science and Technology (269), followed by commerce and management (145), humanities (109), and interdisciplinary studies (79).

In the academic year 2025-26, Mumbai University reported a 50% rise in PhD output compared to the previous year, the highest recorded in the last nine years. The university attributed the increase to a sustained push for research excellence and alignment with global standards. Notably, 401 PhD degrees were awarded in 2024.

Of the total, 84,318 were male, 88,202 female, and two students identified as “others”. During the MU convocation ceremony, 23 medals were awarded to 21 students for academic excellence.

Mumbai University: Dual-degree, APAAR ID

The Centre for Distance and Online Education (CDOE) of the Mumbai University has announced a partnership with COEP Technological University, Pune and Dr Homi Bhabha State University to offer dual-degree programmes.

In the annual report, the university highlighted the process under the Academic Bank of Credit (ABC) framework through APAAR ID, aligned with the vision of ‘One Nation, One Student ID’. This initiative has facilitated the secure storage, accumulation, and seamless transfer of academic credits across higher educational institutions (HEIs), it said.

“The University of Mumbai has published a total of 29,78,099 academic records on the NAD-DigiLocker platform, comprising 25,62,312 degree records (1972–2024) and 4,15,787 marksheet records (2023–2025). Out of the uploaded marksheet records, 3,64,431 marksheets contain credit information, which have been successfully mapped to 2,33,737 students’ Academic Bank of Credits (ABC) accounts for the period 2023–2025,” it said.